The specific areas of attention per workplace , because these although threaded with similar warp and weft patterns , would differ in specificity , would need to be identified and systematic change commenced . The proverbial playing field needs to be leveled to enable the gender gap as manifested by the current eNPS be closed . The gender sentiment polarity is real and presents a shaky foundation . Indeed , a new dispensation is needed for customer experience success .
There is need for the colorful and well-meaning promises and assertions in organizational strategies and service blue prints to be actualized for the good of the internal and external customer .
Generational - Split Workplace Significance
There is an apparent unhappiness at work as has been loudly expressed in this research study , by the generation labelled Gen Z . The 18 -25-year-olds recorded a whopping and significantly calamitous eNPS of 0 , indicating negative sentiment for the workplace . This is indicative of the various workplaces not providing them a place of joy or being worthy of being rated positively . Many human capital professionals have advanced different proposals of how to successfully navigate through and handle this category of internal customers that have been observed not to conform to the regular patterns of the workplace of yore .
Interestingly the same complexities that were experienced in the past by Generation X in an attempt to understand millennials , are now being experienced by the same group towards the Gen Z group . A balance needs to be struck between more listening and adapting to change whilst still ensuring productivity and achievement of objectives at work without compromising core functionalities .
The Baby Boomers on the other hand scored the highest eNPS of the lot with a score of + 50 . Work seems to continue to provide for them the joy they desire , and they have expressed an attitude of positivity towards it . There is an undeniable split in the levels of significance at work and that work provides for the workforce . Holistic inclusion strategies are needed to both carry everyone along , as well as accommodate intergenerational needs for the outcome of customer experience success to be a reality .
Governance - Leadership / Team Disconnect
A disconnect exists between senior leaders at the workplace and the teams they lead , with regards to how they view work , and the feeling they have towards their workplaces . Both executives and senior management recorded the highest eNPS scores of + 37 and + 33 respectively against the lowest score of + 7 from middle management . This group usually referred to as the sandwich team , are normally hard pressed in the middle owing to pressure from top leadership whose bruising demands are numerous , and the need to manage the expectations from the workforce in roles below . Their low score is indicative of this ‘ between a rock and a hard place ’ space that they occupy at work .
Top leadership often from the board governance level to C-Suite to senior management and other top leaders , have been observed to be living and operating in a bubble away from the true situation ‘ on the ground ’. Access and other red tape barriers need to be broken and both a top down and bottom-up approach instituted to enable a culture of open communication and awareness that would reverse this trend . The organizational structure happiness at work index is stratified along the roles pyramid with the tip being happier than the base . Leadership needs to listen to the voice of their employees and respond to their needs to close this gap . The apparent detachment from reality is and will continue to hamper efforts towards customer experience success unless deliberately and purposefully countered and closed .
Organizations are continuously being compelled to recognize the role of customer experience excellence in strategy delivery , and by extension business success and profitability . Culture which is the silver bullet for strategy success , is the blanket whose wool comprises of the important matters constituting ESG , DEI and R & R , that create organizational warmth .
The development , review and proactive implementation of successful customer experience strategies required for institutions to be sustainable , requires embracing ESG principles . This will enable key CX tenets of the redefinition of customer profiling and customer relationships as well as mapping both internal and external customer journeys to be rethought with the three global matters at the center . This will also call for the hard item of ‘ profit ’ captured in the triple bottom line to be driven by the ‘ softer ’ parameters of people and planet as the foundation for prosperity .
Customer experience excellence is built on an ethical premise and promise , and this extends itself towards treating customers fairly ( TCF ), where customers include the internal and external customers . This ethical front thus extends itself to treating the earth and all the eco - requirements of it fairly , as the sustenance that builds customer wellness .
ESG performance and CX performance are tied and the two need to be increasingly reported in the same spaces . CX and EX reports need to be adjusted to include impact on the planet as a socially responsible corporate including but not limited to charitable works , the institution ’ s impact on people including internal and external stakeholders , as well as how well the governance structures through the reporting lines from top to bottom are functioning with accountability and transparency at the fore .
Ref : https :// icxkenya . co . ke / icx-ex-for-cxsurvey-results /
Carolyne Gathuru is the founder and director of strategy at LifeSkills Consulting . She has several years of experience in customer experience strategy development and training . You can commune with her on this or related issues via mail at : CGathuru @ life-skills . co . ke